Super Bowl 55 kicked off the season with a song to remind us of slavery and George Floyd. The league chose the “black national anthem” for both Opening Day for the 2020 season and the Super Bowl as part of a national reckoning over race in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died in the custody of the Minneapolis police.
This is very divisive, and George Floyd is no one to hold up as a hero.
Alicia Keys sang the Black National Anthem, “Lift Your Voice and Sing.”
Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs took the field during Keys’ performance on the jumbotron, but the teams returned to the locker room immediately afterward.
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Singers Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church sang our actual national anthem in an unidentifiable rendition. It looked like everyone on the field was standing.
Beautiful. Alicia Keys ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’ Both teams lined up in endzones #SBLV pic.twitter.com/WMgUVwOv4X
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiWTSP) February 7, 2021
.@jsullivanmusic and @ericchurch sing the National Anthem ahead of #SBLV! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dnhOTrHKfW
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021
A poet also kicked off the season. Amanda Gorman’s poem was to honor teachers, military veterans, and frontline healthcare workers. She just rambles with no periods and superficial lines.
She’s a female Joni Mitchell rapper-style poet.
What a moment. @TheAmandaGorman #SBLV pic.twitter.com/v8VM9uhPww
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021
And in conclusion, Brady helped take it home:
Tom Brady hugging his son after Super Bowl 55 is so wholesome pic.twitter.com/M1jalk5RuK
— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) February 8, 2021
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